Adding rolapitant to a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist and dexamethasone improved quality of life compared with a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, dexamethasone, and placebo in patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC) or moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (MEC), a study published in the journal Supportive Care in Cancer has shown.1
Previous reports of phase 3 trials demonstrated that the addition of the substance P/neurokinin 1 receptor antagonist, rolapitant, to standard therapy improves protection against chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients receiving HEC or MEC.
In those studies, investigators also assessed the impact of rolapitant on quality of life. Patients completed the Functional Living Index-Emesis (FLIE) questionnaire on day 6 of cycle 1; FLIE total score, as well as nausea and vomiting domain scores and the proportion of patients with no impact on daily life, were used as end points.
Continue Reading
Results showed that in patients receiving HEC, rolapitant significantly improved the FLIE total score (P <.001), nausea score (P <.05), and vomiting score (P <.001) compared with the control regimen.
Similar results were observed in patients receiving MEC or an anthracycline plus cyclophosphamide.
The researchers found that 73.2% of patients receiving MEC or an anthracycline plus cyclophosphamide reported no impact on daily life with rolapitant vs 67.4% of those who received placebo (P =.027).
Reference
1. Chasen M, Urban L, Schnadig I, et al. Rolapitant improves quality of life of patients receiving highly or moderately emetogenic chemotherapy. Supp Care Cancer. 2016 Aug 24. doi: 10.1007/s00520-016-3388-7. [Epub ahead of print]
